Call for Papers for BISA PGN Conference

Following 2014’s biggest ever BISA (The British International Studies Association) Postgraduate Network conference in Dublin, Ireland, the 2015 BISA PGN Annual Conference will be taking place at King’s College London in the heart of London. It will take place on the 30th March, 2015.

Last year, five BISA Working Groups sponsored specialist panels at PGN Conference, including the BISA Environment Working Group (WG), based on their areas of research, and BISA PGN are looking to expand the scheme this year. The BISA Environment WG have been guaranteed several panels at this year’s PGN Conference, and are now looking for papers on the following themes.

The paper topics and their panel convenors are as follows. If you are interested in submitting a paper, please contact the listed panel convenor. Each submission requires a paper title, your university affiliation, and a 250 word abstract, by the 14th January.

1. Environmental Change and Inequality: 

This panel intends to address the question of whether social and political responses to environmental change can reduce global inequality.

Panel convenor- Ross Gillard, ee12rg@leeds.ac.uk

2. Environmental Commitments and (Non)-implementation.

This panel aims to discuss problems that arise during the process of putting international and domestic environmental commitments into practice at the micro levels.

Panel convenor- Elena Gorianova, elena.gorianova@gmail.com

3. The Role of Corporate Environmental Disclosure and Reporting in the Emergence of 'Green' Economic Narratives and Accumulation Strategies: 
There is a considerable body of literature on corporate environmental disclosure and reporting as a neoliberal 'alternative' mode of governance. We welcome proposals that go beyond such an assessment of the immediate effects of reporting and examine whether and how such information production provides basic blocs for the formulation of 'green' economic narratives and accumulation strategies.

Panel convenor- Nino David Jordan, nino.jordan.13@ucl.ac.uk

Attendance at the Conference will be an ideal opportunity for PhD students to experience an academic conference and receive feedback on their research. The keynote speaker will be the Chair of BISA and Head of Department at the University of Sheffield, Professor Nicola Phillips. The event will also be followed by a wine reception at King’s College London."

General queries about the conference can be sent to Paul Tobin: paul.tobin@york.ac.uk

Call for Papers: The Black Sea in the Socialist World

The Black Sea in the Socialist World

Birkbeck College, University of London

February 6-7, 2015

Call for Papers by Johanna Conterio:

https://networks.h-net.org/node/19397/discussions/49514/call-papers-black-sea-socialist-world

Call for Papers on "Nature Protection, Environmental Policy and Social Movements in Communist and Capitalist Countries during the Cold War"

Conference at the The German Historical Institute (GHI) in Washington DC

May 29-30, 2015

Nature Protection, Environmental Policy and Social Movements in Communist and Capitalist Countries during the Cold War

Conveners: Astrid Mignon Kirchhof (Georgetown/GHI) and John McNeill (Georgetown)

Call for Papers 

http://www.ghi-dc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76&Itemid=162

New Networking website - connect with others working in your field

David Moon and Victoria Beale at the University of York, UK, have created a networking website for people studying the environmental history of Russia and its neighbours. Our main focus is on the Post-Soviet space, the USSR, the Russian Empire and its predecessors. This is a place to discover and connect with others working in the field.

The network is for anyone who identifies themselves as an Environmental Historian, from any discipline, including academic staff/faculty, postgraduate/graduate students and independent scholars who have published in the field.

If this describes you, we invite you to add your profile to the growing number on the website. http://www.reh.spruz.com

British Council Workshop on Environmental History, Astana, Kazakhstan, 3-6 Jan 2015

ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY WORKSHOP

Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan

3-6 January 2015

Organisers: Dr Beatrice Penati (Nazarbayev University) and
Prof. David Moon (York University, UK)

We invite applications from EARLY-CAREER SCHOLARS (up to 10 years from Ph.D./Kandidat nauk) at Kazakh and UK Universities to take part in a Workshop on

Kazakhstan’s Environmental Challenges in a Eurasian and Global Perspective

We welcome proposals on both the environmental history of Kazakhstan and on Eurasia and other parts of the Globe for purposes of comparison.

UK participants are very welcome to present research on other regions of the globe.

The programme includes panels, keynote lectures, a networking session, advice on professional development and research funding, and a documentary film night.

Successful applicants’ expenses (travel, accommodation, subsistence) will be paid by the British Council.

(The working language will be English.)

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Please send (all in English):

o A letter explaining your motivation to participate (one page)
o A CV, with degrees, employment, publications, conference papers (two pages)
o An abstract of your presentation at the workshop (500-700 words)

to astana.envhis@gmail.com, by 31 October 2014

We aim to notify successful applicants by 7 November 2014

For further information, please contact us by email: astana.envhis@gmail.com

FURTHER INFORMATION

British Council Research Links ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY WORKSHOP

Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan, 3-6 January 2015

Kazakhstan’s Environmental Challenges in a Eurasian and Global Perspective.

The workshop will address the theme of the environmental challenges facing Kazakhstan in a historical and a wider comparative framework, encompassing perspectives from elsewhere in Eurasia (broadly defined) and the world at large.

The economy of Kazakhstan has been growing rapidly for the past decade. This economic growth, as well as related social phenomena (in particular urbanization, energy consumption, waste production) is posing new challenges for the environment. Similarly, the country is coping with the heavy heritage of environmental issues having emerged in the Soviet period, such as the consequences of nuclear experiments in Semipalatinsk, or the desiccation of the Aral Sea, and the desertification of parts of the steppe as a result of over-grazing and incautious cultivation. In many cases, these issues transcend national frontiers and should be better apprehended in a Eurasian and global perspective.

There is a disproportion between the scale of these problems and the status of Environmental History as a discipline in Kazakhstan. While the gravity of present challenges would suggest the need for historical depth in the study of the interaction between human society and the environment in such a fragile context such as the semi-arid steppe region, in mainstream Environmental History the study of Central Eurasia has so far remained the appanage of scholars outside Kazakhstan.

To bridge this gap, this workshop will offer a "hands-on" experience of what contemporary Environmental History is. It will bring together leading specialists from both Kazakhstan and the UK together with early-career scholars based in the UK and their Kazakhstani counterparts, so that the latter can become acquainted with current research agendas in global and transnational Environmental History. At the same time, the UK-based scholars can develop a better knowledge of the Central Asia's own historical specificities.

The workshop will use peer-review sessions to ensure both the consolidation of a discipline-specific sensitivity and the emergence of research plans that are open to the comparison between Kazakhstan, the rest of Eurasia, and other parts of the world. Participation is limited to 13 UK-based and 13 Kazakhstan-based early-career scholars (10 years from Ph.D./Kandidate nauk)

Keynote speakers include: Dr Beatrice Penati (Nazarbayev University, Astana); Prof. David Moon (York University, UK); Dr Jonathan Oldfield (Birmingham University, UK); and Dr Renato Sala (Kazakhstan National University, Almaty).

Download this information as a pdf

BASEES Annual Conference 28-30 March 2015 CALL FOR PAPERS

BASEES Annual Conference 28-30 March 2015

Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge

Call for papers

http://www.basees2015.org 

Openings for Chair and a Professor (full or associate) in Central Asian History, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan

Deadline for applications: 7 September 2014

Full or Associate Professor in History  

Institution:	Nazarbayev University
Location:	Astana, Kazakhstan
Category:	Faculty - Liberal Arts - History
Posted:	07/25/2014
Application Due:	Open Until Filled
Type:	Full Time

The School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) at Nazarbayev University invites applications for a Full or Associate Professor in History in the Department of History, Philosophy and Religious Studies. S/he should be able to contribute to the teaching in the history of Central Asia and the Kazakh steppe and to the M.A. in Eurasian Studies. To complement the existing strengths of the Department, candidates with an expertise in the interaction between Central Asia and China or in the early modern history of Central Asia and the Turkic-speaking world are particularly encouraged to apply.

The position requires a Ph.D. in History or Oriental Studies and teaching and research experience commensurate with the sought rank. We are looking for a candidate with an exemplary and ongoing record of research, demonstrated excellence in graduate and undergraduate teaching, a commitment to active involvement in the life of the Department, and the capability of mentoring junior faculty in research and teaching. This is a three-year appointment with the possibility of renewal, starting in August 2015.

The Department currently has ten full-time Faculty members representing the breadth of the discipline, with an emphasis on Eurasian history and civilizations. Besides offering a major in History and minors both in History and in Philosophy/Religious Studies, the Department plays a key role in providing instruction in these disciplines to students across the School and beyond, as well as in contributing to the recently established M.A. in Eurasian Studies.

The Department is responsible for offering an innovative course in the history of Kazakhstan which is compulsory for all undergraduates.

The Department is housed within the School of Humanities and Social Sciences which
offers six majors and has approximately 600 students. Nazarbayev University is a modern, English-language institution based on best practices drawn from partner higher education institutions in the US, UK and Singapore. The strategic partner for SHSS and the Department is the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Nazarbayev University is located in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana.

The salary and benefit package are highly competitive. The benefit package includes the following:

• Housing based on family size and rank;
• A relocation allowance;
• Air tickets to home country, twice per year;
• No-cost medical insurance, with global coverage;
• An educational allowance for children.

Applicants should submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, three publications and the names and contact information for three referees.

Application Information

    

Contact:	Chair of Hiring Committee School of Humanities and Social Sciences Nazarbayev University
Email Address:	nu.shss@nu.edu.kz ...

Chair of the Department of History, Religious Studies and Philosophy

  

Institution:	Nazarbayev University
Location:	Astana, Kazakhstan
Category:	Faculty - Liberal Arts - History Faculty - Liberal Arts - Religious Studies & Theology Faculty - Liberal Arts - Philosophy
Posted:	07/25/2014
Application Due:	Open Until Filled
Type:	Full Time

The School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) at Nazarbayev University invites applications for the inaugural position of Chair of the Department of History, Religious Studies and Philosophy. The Department currently has ten full-time faculty members representing a variety of disciplines and sub-disciplines, with an emphasis on Eurasian history and civilization. Besides offering a major in History and minors in History and in Philosophy and Religious Studies, the Department plays a key role in providing instruction in History, Religious Studies and Philosophy to students across the School and beyond as well as in contributing to the recently established M.A. in Eurasian Studies. The Department is responsible for offering an innovative course in the history of Kazakhstan which is compulsory for all undergraduates.

The Department is housed within the School of Humanities and Social Sciences which offers six majors and has approximately 600 students. Nazarbayev University is a modern, English-language institution based on best practices drawn from partner higher education institutions in the US, UK and Singapore. The strategic partner for SHSS and the Department is the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Nazarbayev University is located in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana.

The position requires a Ph.D. in History or a related discipline with an exemplary and ongoing record of research, teaching and service. We are looking for a scholar with a proven track record of leadership as a department chair in a Western research university who has a vision for advancing our research and outreach in Central Asia and beyond, and who has a commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship and teaching. The applicant is expected to be at the Full or Associate Professor rank. The position is open in terms of area of specialization.

Nazarbayev University is committed to offering equal opportunities to all candidates, whatever their ethnicity, gender, and culture.

Requirements for the position include the ability to articulate a clear vision for the Department, a management style based on collaboration and consensus-building, the ability to work with faculty, staff and students of diverse backgrounds, and the capacity of mentoring junior faculty in research and teaching. In addition to contributing to the research and teaching mission of the Department, the Chair will also contribute to the further building of the School and play a significant role in shaping and implementing the School's strategic vision. This is a three-year appointment with the possibility of renewal.

The salary and benefit package are highly competitive. The benefit package includes the following:

• Housing based on family size and rank;
• A relocation allowance;
• Air tickets to home country, twice per year;
• Medical insurance, with global coverage;
• An educational allowance for children;

Applicants should submit a cover letter describing how their interests, previous experience and management style will contribute to the building of the Department and School, curriculum vitae and the names and contact information of three references.

Application Information

    

Contact:	Chair of Hiring Committee School of Humanities and Social Sciences Nazarbayev University
Email Address:	nu.shss@nu.edu.kz

'Steppe by Steppe' - Prof Tom Isern reviews David Moon’s book on the Russian steppe

Professor Tom Isern of North Dakota State University reviewed David Moon’s book on the Russian steppe on Prairie Public Radio, Fargo, North Dakota.

http://www.prairiepublic.org/radio/radio-programs-a-z/plains-folk?post=57129

Nuclear power, no thanks! The aftermath of Chernobyl in Italy and the nuclear power referendum of 1987

This article (2011) by Wilko Graf von Hardenberg is part of the Arcadia collection of the Environment and Society Portal.

The canal system of Bolshoy Solovetsky Island

This essay on the Sovovetsy canal system is by Ekaterina Kalemeneva, who was our guide last summer on the Network's field trip to the Solovetskii islands.

A new show of contemporary Russian photography opens in London

See http://calvertjournal.com/features/show/2709/russia-landscape-photography-prokudin-gorsky#.U6LrFLGmXqE 

Life in a Real Nuclear Wasteland

Strange illnesses in one of the most contaminated towns in the world challenge what we think we know about the dangers of radioactivity.

This article (2013) by Kate Brown, visiting researcher with the Network, is about people living on a contaminated river in the Russian Urals:

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2013/04/nuclear_contamination_in_former_ussr_radioactivity_in_muslomovo_on_techa.html

Read more about Kate Brown on the UMBC website http://history.umbc.edu/facultystaff/full-time/kate-brown/

View a list of all people involved in the Network on the Network website http://www.york.ac.uk/history/research/majorprojects/russiasenvironmentalhistory/#tab-3

Book: Plutopia: Nuclear Families, Atomic Cities, and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters

Kate Brown (University of Maryland Baltimore County) is a Visiting Researcher with the Network.

Here is a link to a recent exchange about her latest book "Plutopia: Nuclear Families, Atomic Cities, and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters" (Oxford University Press, 2013). http://www.secondworldurbanity.org/book-discussions/oh-utopia-where-are-you/

Read more about Kate Brown on the UMBC website http://history.umbc.edu/facultystaff/full-time/kate-brown/

View a list of all people involved in the Network on the Network website http://www.york.ac.uk/history/research/majorprojects/russiasenvironmentalhistory/#tab-3

Eunice Blavascunas on "Signals in the Forest: Postsocialist Scientific Legitimacy in Poland's Bialowieza Forest"

A Lunchtime Colloquium at the Rachel Carson Center, Munich

05.06.2014 12:00  – 14:00 

Location: Katholische Hochschulgemeinde (KHG), Leopoldstr. 11
Credibility contests about what nature is doing are rarely won by science alone because science is a cultural activity. In Europe’s last low-land old growth forest, the Bialowieza Forest in eastern Poland, which experts do people trust when those experts speak about the compositions of plants and animals that belong there? Which experts have they trusted in the post-socialist era? Intense debates about the ontology of the forest prefigure how the forest can be managed and in this story inflect on the use of radio telemetry and western-produced media. Cultural stories about science help scholars understand the shortcuts people take in interpreting the scientific positions that fit their views as well as political, historical circumstances.

Eunice Blavascunas (College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbour, USA) will present on "Signals in the Forest: Postsocialist Scientific Legitimacy in Poland's Bialowieza Forest."

The Lunchtime Colloquium is free and open to the public.
Snacks are served at 12:00; the lecture starts at 12:30.

For more information on the Lunchtime Colloquium series, please click here.

The Country and the City: Connecting People and Their Places in Environmental History

This International Conference in Beijing is currently underway (29.05.2014 – 01.06.2014)

 

It is Co-Sponsored by the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society, LMU Munich, and the Center for Ecological History, Renmin University of China

 

Do rural people live in harmony with each other and with nature? Are urban people alienated from the land and exploitative in their ecological behavior? These questions point to cultural myths that have persisted across time and space, from ancient China to modern Africa. This conference seeks to scrutinize such cultural perceptions, in the spirit of famed British cultural critic Raymond Williams, and at the same time examine the material connections that have long bound rural and urban habitats together. We are especially interested in comparative studies that cross national boundaries, in papers that bring neglected parts of the world into view, and in perspectives that extend back in time before the twentieth century.

The program (PDF, 76 KB) can be viewed on the website of the Rachel Carson Center.

An American Environmental Historian visits Russia's National Parks

A thoughtful piece by Alan Roe - a Ph.D. student of Russian Environmental History at Georgetown University.  http://www.york.ac.uk/media/history/russianenvironment/National%20Parks%20essay%20Roe%20.pdf

Conference: “Environmental History in Russia: Stages of Development & Promising Research Directions”

Call for papers for Conference: “Environmental History in Russia: Stages ofDevelopment & Promising Research Directions”, November 13-15, 2014, Elabuga (Tatarstan, Russia). Deadline for proposals is 15 July 2014.

Contact: Andrei Vinogradov via e-mail andreivinogradov@gmail.com.

Fieldtrip to Kiev and Chernobyl postponed

Unfortunately, due to the current situation in Ukraine, we feel it is inappropriate for the Network to visit the country and hence we have postponed the Network's field trip to Kiev and the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. We hope to be able to carry out this fieldtrip at a future date.

Network poster

A poster providing information about the Network is now available to download from the website at http://www.york.ac.uk/history/research/majorprojects/russiasenvironmentalhistory/#tab-7 under the subheading "Network Publicity"

Chernobyl Documentaries

There are two new links to documentary films on the Chernobyl disaster from the Resources section of the website.

Solovetsky – from spirituality to coercion. And back...

A photo essay on the Network trip to the Solovetsky Islands last August, produced by participant Ion Von Sucala, is now available to view on the website. You can access this, and other essays and information about the trip, at http://www.york.ac.uk/history/research/majorprojects/russiasenvironmentalhistory/events/#tab-2 

Timm Suess's Chernobyl Trip

Timm Suess, a Swiss photographer, visited Chernobyl in March 2009. His blog post about his trip is both fascinating and beautifully illustrated. http://timmsuess.com/projects/chernobyl-journal/chernobyl-journal-day-one/

Chernobyl Ecology

Professor Chris D Thomas, an ecologist and evolutionary biologist of the Department of Biology, University of York, has prepared some notes on the controversial work of Anders Pape Møller and Timothy A Mousseau on the biological consequences of the Chernobyl explosion. Chernobyl Ecology (word, 16KB). t is available on the Resources and Publicity page of the website.

Health and Safety for Chernobyl trip

We have now prepared a Health and Safety Briefing for participants on the Network trip to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in July 2014. It is available from the Resources and Publicity page of the website.

This was written by Victoria Beale (Network Facilitator) in conjunction with Ian Haslam (Head of Radiation Protection at the University of Leeds following a meeting between Victoria, Ian, David Moon (Lead Investigator) and  Chris Teeling (Health and Fire Safety Officer at the University of York).

York Talk "Interactions in environmental history" summary

The summary handout from David Moon's 'York Talk' on "Interactions in Environmental History" (8/1/14) is now available from the Resources and Publicity page of the website.

Network showcased at 'York Talks'

On Wednesday 8th January the work of the Network will come under the spotlight in the University of York's inspiring public showcase - 'York Talks' http://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/public-lectures/spring-2014/york-talk/.

Styled on the highly successful ‘TED’ Talks, 'York Talks' will highlight some of the University's most innovative and challenging research in an accessible, fast paced series of 15-minute talks.The aim is to share and explain our research to a wide audience of academics, researchers and the general public.

The event, the first of its kind at the University, illuminates the work of the University's Anniversary Professors, all of whom are leading edge academics appointed in 2013 to mark York’s 50th year. It will be opened by the new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Koen Lamberts in his first public event.

As one of the Anniversary Professors, David Moon will be presenting the work of the Leverhulme International Network in a talk entitled "Interactions in environmental history".